Getting married means intertwining your life with someone else, right down to the finances. A prenuptial agreement can help keep things straight, but there are limits to how much they can handle.
People are dating longer and getting married later. This means more time to earn money, invest in stocks or take on debt. Things that will all need to be dealt with if there’s talk of divorce. While a prenuptial agreement can help take care of many of those assignments, they can’t cover everything.
Coming to terms
Making a deal with your significant other can certainly come with benefits. It can help you enter your partnership with a solid understanding of where you stand and save you a lot of trouble if you decide to part ways.
You can come up with a valid deal as long as you meet certain requirements, like willful acceptance and full disclosure. But just because you both agree on terms doesn’t mean the court will go along with all of them.
Striking down details
You may put down terms you think you want in your agreement, but that doesn’t mean the courts have to follow suit:
- Maintenance: You or your partner can agree to waive spousal support, but the courts may listen. The state could overrule you if the person on the receiving end would face excessive hardships.
- Children: While you can make your preferences known through a prenup, that doesn’t mean a court has to abide. Custody, visitation and support are still up to the standards of state law.
- Terms: You probably won’t get away with laying out punishments for certain behavior. The courts could dismiss attempts to withhold assets for things like cheating, breaking the law or being the one to file for divorce.
Understanding what authority Florida holds when it comes to your wishes is essential for a successful agreement. While you and your partner may not see much wrong with what you’re writing down, any guidelines that overstep their bounds may have trouble holding water through a divorce.